A tech blog about my life in the city and the technology that carries me through it

Personal

Well, it has been quite interesting my first coupe weeks driving for Uber. Some people will literally tell you everything, their life story, and what the meaning of life is. Others can be stuck up and even when trying to be friendly and just make small talk, they respond with “Can we just get there without the chat?” But for the most part the people of Boston are cool.

What I find interesting is how much different some people treat you knowing your a local versus those that don’t think you know your way around because your using Waze to find their destination. There is a reason most drivers use Waze; traffic! Boston’s traffic patterns are more unpredictable then New England weather. I digress…

I have received a lot of comments on the fuzzy dice I have hinging in the mirror. Truth is they have sentimental value and have been in every car I have ever owned and given to me by a close friend when I just got my license.

I have also gotten some weird requests with directions, and drop off locations. What most people seem to forget is Uber is similar to a taxi service. You pay a base fare, and for distance and time. A ride from Stuart St (cross Arlington St) to the seaport hotel is only a 1.5 mile ride, but in Friday rush hour traffic will take 40-45 minutes. The rider was really nice and it was 12 degrees outside but it was a $31 ride for me (which means she paid like $36)

Not a bad part-time second job. Love being able to just do it whenever. Just watch out for the 10 million potholes…

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As some of you know, recently I have indulged in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency. For those reading who don’t know what crypto is, think Bitcoin. If you have been living under a rock and haven’t heard of Bitcoin, check out the youtube video at the end of this blog post (don’t worry its short and to the point so you shouldn’t be too bored 🙃 ).

So in the most basic terms possible, its internet money. For years bitcoin hasn’t been profitable to mine unless you are a big “farm” with multiple rigs networked together to make a super-computer, or a ‘farm’ or ASIC miners (basically machines designed to mine bitcoin that tend to be expensive to purchase, and expensive to run). That all changed with the release of Ethereum, and how quickly it took off. It de-centralized the market (again, kind of) and brought mining power back to the home ‘user.’ Over the course of the last year, different algorithms have been used in blockchain technologies to create a new market of cryptocurrencies known as ‘alt-coins.’ This essentially launched the crypto market into a real economy. Its stability is a hot debate topic amongst the tope economists and technologists in the world.

Asleep yet?

So I decided to get involved. My funds are very limited, so this is a slow experiment for now. This is what I call Prototype phase 1:

This is an old gaming PC I built with my AT&T ‘fuck you’ money in 2012 when I quit. Specs:
– 3rd Generation Intel i5-2400
– ASRock z77 Extreme4 Mothboard
– (Started with) 12GB DDR3 (i think PC-3200 but i could be off) which became 8GB after i managed to short out 2 memory DIMM’s
– Thermaltake 730 watt PSU
– 4 PCI-E 16x to 4x power risers
– 3 ATI RX 570’s (2 MSI Armor’s, 1 XFX OC Gaming) (only 1 MSI and the XFX pictured above)
– EDIT: There was a 4th card, a GTX 1050ti i originally chose since it drew almost nothing for power, however the hashing power wasn’t worth what i paid, so i will be replacing it with a bigger ‘heavy-hitter’ soon

I have an old intel 120gb SSD for storage.

Its certainly not pretty, nor is it complete (need a new PSU and motherboard, along with my final GPU). It basically just a torn apart PC with wires all over the place.

Right now I’m mining on Nicehash using their algorithm switcher. Average daily profit:

Still have lot to fine tune and complete!

EDIT 2: Some asked what my hash rates per card are: (i can play with tuning and get better but this is average)

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I know I haven’t written in a bit, but I have been stressed beyond believe the past week weeks between looking for a new job in an area I don’t know that well, a narcissistic boss who has been making life absolute hell, and every sign in the world I need to get my ass in gear and get south. I know i have been pausing and going back and forth for a month or 2, but recent events have solidified my choice of leaving. I need to go.

The reason I am writing this is because I am (unfortunately) a millennial by birth-age (however I will never identify as that) so I need to keep up. Blogging is becoming a thing of yesteryear, and now everyone “goes live” or records them selves.

You will see me “live” more often via facebook (fuck that periscope BS) but Al of my videos will be posted here. So My Blog just became a Vlog. Hope you enjoy my ugly mug of a face 😉

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We are about to close out possibly the worst year of my 28 years in existence. Details aren’t necessary, it seems pretty universal everywhere. I mean being a kid that grew up in the early 90’s, we lost some amazing pop icons.

Whatever I’ve been doing doesn’t seem to be producing positive results. Is it fate, or is it because I executed everything so poorly? I mean the year wasn’t a total loss. I’m finally driving a decent car which I love and took multiple road trips this summer, I have a job that allows me the flexibility to travel and call my own hours, even over the past 12 days have ended on a high note with some close friends reminding me that there’s more out there, I just need to look at things different.

So we come upon 2017 in a few days, and I have no idea what this year will bring. I can say that I’m still going to be the same asshole I was before, but 2017 is the year of change. It is time to make some big changes in my life, some which are certainly overdue. I know some of the changes I am making will surprise a lot of my friends, ad I’m sure I will lose touch with some because when someone changes a life style, they tend to disconnect from those that don’t change. I am only changing for myself, not for those around me.

I had 2 weekends this whole year that I truly enjoyed and can say I was actually truly happy. One of those weekends just passed us and it got me to thinking. Actually it got me thinking so much, It’s all I have thought about since.

Maybe moving to VA isn’t the greatest idea right now, and maybe I should reconsider relocating and where. I saw an old friend this weekend who reminded me to follow my heart and my passion. I don’t have true passion to move to VA, it’s just easy. It’s time to stop going for easy and maybe take a bigger risk.

So this new year, I will be changing in a positive direction with changes in my lifestyle. However that doesn’t change who I am. I’m still me, and I always will be, love me or hate me.

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I received a lot of comments, notes, emails, and Facebook posts about my personal fight with depression and addiction. Unfortunately my clinical depression and crippling anxiety has caused me to want to stay hidden about these types of issues.

After receiving the response I did yesterday, it made me think. How did these things become such taboo in our society to talk about? A lot of people experience the same thing but no one feels safe about talking about it.

Everyone reading this (And especially if you’re from Massachusetts) probably knows someone who has been affected by addiction. I can also guarantee anyone reading this either is, or has someone close to them affected by depression. So many people are affected. The taboo needs to be broken.

Personally I have tried talking about my issues with addiction to my close friends and family, and most of them understand it’s a disease and not a choice. I know this personally as there have been times in the past when in my head I didn’t want to use, but 3 hours later found myself buying a bag of dope or pills. I didn’t to, there is just something about addiction that causes your brain to run on auto-pilot with these things.

Anyways I’ll keep this short but I wanted to follow up from my post yesterday after thinking about it last night as I lay in bed falling asleep with my mind racing.

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As some of my personal friends know I have suffered from clinical depression on-and-off for years, only to discover that at 19, I am bi-polar as well. I’ve also shared the same struggle with addiction which took the life my life long best friend, and my close friend since middle school recently.

It seams to be a taboo among society to talk about with people, including those we are closest to in life. I can tell you that unfortunately I have lost friends due to my struggles. And you know what? It sucks not to be able to talk about it, other then to a professional. I want it to be accepted and be public about what struggle is like.

Depression is terrible and for those who have gone through it know exactly what I am talking about. Depression has come closer to killing me then my addictions ever have. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. It takes over your whole body mind, soul, and personality. People will ask “How are you?” or “How have you been lately?” and you want to do nothing more then unload to the point you have tears flowing down your cheeks. But as society wants and views, most of the time you just answer “Pretty good” or “Not too bad.” Depression leads me to the next taboo: Addiction.

I have struggled with addiction on-and-off since I was 20 years old. My addiction story starts just like every other, but It’s a bit different. I, like most, was involved in an accident where i was prescribed heavy opiates for an extended period of time, then was cut off without warning (Mind you this was 2007-2008 before laws became strict) because it was the start of an epidemic in this country. I had been smoking pot since I was 15 and had met a few people over the years that could connect me to other things, so getting my hands on anything was pretty easy.

I have always had an addictive personality that extends far beyond drugs and alcohol. When pills were thrown in the mix, it just made it worse. As time progressed I became close friends with my dealer who in turn gave me pills for cheap, and later became my roommate. He had a condition that caused him to get WAYYYY over prescribed different opiates and benzo’s. It got to a point where i never paid for a thing. There would be something waiting for me by my keys in the morning to get me through the day.

I pulled myself out of that scenario and “cleaned up” which really just meant I was only taking a couple “blues” (30mg Percoset) one or twice a week and getting better at hiding it. For 8 years of my life it has been to a point where I was more depressed then anything, and I would hit my low point and just go out and find a few blues. I would either pop them, or crush them and snort them. In my head I wasn’t an addict (haha) and I had it under control.

The times I have been clean in my life have been the times I have been the least depressed. When I fall to my depression, I turn to the one thing that has never let me down in my life. I lost 2 of my best friends in February due to addiction and it has caused the most depression in my life I have ever had. It’s part of the reason I am up at 2am writing this blog. I can say that for as low as I have felt, This time I have stayed clean, and its the hardest struggle I have dealt with since February.

Add my extreme anxiety to the mix, and you have a recipe for potential disaster. Currently, I feel I have it 85% under control. But this recurring insomnia, crippling depression, and struggle to keep clean really sucks, and 15% of me is ready to implode.

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